October 2009 Visiting Teaching Message

A reader of this blog wrote in to me about this months Visiting Teaching message and said, "I'm having trouble thinking of anything meaningful for this topic for Grandma's, something that would help them grow in understanding or whatever."

My first response was to give her sage advice, and share my own examples with her of what I would do or have done in the past. I took a day or so to really think about her question and decided that personal inspiration was what she should seek so that she herself could answer her own questions and ponderings and make it personal to her. This is the way it is with Heavenly Father, He doesn't usually provide us with the immediate answers to our questions, but expects us to do our part to seek guidance and inspiration through prayer and pondering. He wants us to experience this life for ourself, thereby giving us the agency to choose and learn from our choices. Thus.... I will stick with the answer that I gave, instead of sharing my own advice.

I would like to share a very recent experience that I was given, yesterday in fact, on my birthday. I have written about my grand daughter in the past, but she keeps providing so many learning experiences as I have the opportunity to spend time with her. She keeps me on my toes, as she is a sponge for learning.My husband invited all our children and grandchildren, and my mother to meet at the Olive Garden restaurant to share lunch for my birthday. It was wonderful to be surrounded by those that I love the very

most in this world. I have two other wonderful children and their family who live many miles away and were not able to come for lunch. Anyway, as my 5 year old granddaughter arrived with her family, I saw that she was grinning from ear to ear. In her hand she had a gift bag that she had decorated with ribbon and pipe cleaners. In her other hand, she held a card that I could see she made herself. She ran up to the table where I was already seated and her words just burst from her mouth with excitement...

"Grandma, Happy Birthday, and I have made something for you

that you are really going to love." She went on to say that it was very special and we would need to find a very special place to keep in in my house." She was too excited to let me open the gift myself, so she reached down into the sack and pulled out this colorful object that she had made. I asked her what exactly it was, and she said, it was just a beautiful colorful shape and she really didn't know what it was. I told her how much I

loved it and could see that allot of time was spent creating such a masterpiece. Then she handed me the gift bag and she said, "Grandma, I even made this beautiful ribbon to decorate this bag." As I looked into her face, she was still grinning with pride and joy and such excitement to give me these beautiful gifts she created. She then said, "Here Grandma, I made you a card." As I took the card, I could see that she had spent what I presumed to be hours, placing tiny little stickers of all kinds, all

over the face of this card. There had to be hundreds, and I can only guess how long it took. She was making the most lovely card she could think of because she loves her Grandmother so much. She drew on the inside and the outsides of the card, and put her name and age on the card. She phonetically spelled out a message to me that read...."HaBerthgama", which translates into "happy Birthday Grandma" and inside she spelled "Fum Brin",
which I am sure you can see spelled out to be "From Brin". Under

her signature was 16 hand drawn and colored hearts with a rainbow design next to them. On the back of the card she had put her name "Brinle's" with more colorful hand drawn hearts all around. She said to me that it meant that she loves me allot.

Of all the lovely and thoughtful gifts that I was given this day on my birthday, the one that meant the most was the one of time and love given to me by my little granddaughter. I talked after the lunch with my daughter and said, " I can only imagine how much time this must have taken Brinley to make this gift, card and decorate the bag." My daughter said that she sat at the kitchen table at home for more than 4 hours and talking excitedly about how much Grandma was going to love her gift. Of all the gifts I have ever wanted, those who have given me the gift of time and love have always meant the most. Don't get me wrong, I love all the other gifts that have been given but my Grandmothers heart seems to be drawn to those gifts that are simple and given with lots of love and time. This story reminds me of a poem that I have kept in my heart since I was a child. It goes something like this....

"Which Loved Best" by Joy Allison

“I love you, Mother,” said little John;
Then, forgetting his work, his cap went on,
And he was off to the garden swing,
Leaving his mother the wood to bring.

“I love you, Mother,” said little Nell;
“I love you better than tongue can tell!”
Then she teased and pouted half the day,
Till Mother rejoiced when she went to play.

“I love you, Mother,” said little Fran;
“Today I’ll help you all I can.”
To the cradle then she did softly creep,
And rocked the baby till it fell asleep.

Then stepping softly, she took the broom
And swept the floor and dusted the room;
Busy and happy all day was she,
Helpful and cheerful as she could be.“

I love you, Mother,” again they said,
Three little children going to bed.
How do you think that Mother guessed
Which of them really loved her best'

Going back to the gift that my granddaughter gave to me, I wanted to finish the story. When we all arrived back home to my house after lunch, my granddaughter once again, removed the gift that she had made from the bag, and said, "This is such a special gift, that it needs to be put in a special place. It needs to be where there is lots of light, where the colors can be seen and people can see how beautiful it is. She looked around the room for just the right place to put it and at first she thought it should be displayed on the kitchen bar. I then said, "Nope, I have the perfect place for it". Together Brinley and I went over to one of my large windows in the dining area and set it right on the window sill. "I said, this is the perfect place because the light will shine on it and will make it even more beautiful." Brinley agreed. (The cute little object that she made for me is at the bottom of the picture with the gift bag and sticker card. Click on the picture and it will blow it up so that you can see that cute little creation.)

How do you think that I could guess... home much my Granddaughter loved me? Once again, I am not going to answer it, because actions spoke louder than words.

In this months Visiting Teaching Message...Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "Reserved by the Lord for this time, [the rising generation] must now be preserved . . . and prepared for their special moment in human history! They have been held back to come forth at this time, but now they need to be pushed forward to meet their rendezvous. . . .
"Youth are not unlike prospective converts. There are those critical moments when their souls begin to tilt—toward the Lord or away from Him. These moments of decision cannot always be created, but when they occur, they must not be wasted. More often than not, these moments will occur in quiet and reverent conversation with parents, grandparents, a bishop, an adult leader, or a righteous peer" ("Unto the Rising Generation," Ensign, Apr. 1985, 8, 10).

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy: "Our rising generation is worthy of our best efforts to support and strengthen them in their journey to adulthood. . . . In every action we take, in every place we go, with every Latter-day Saint young person we meet, we need to have an increased awareness of the need for strengthening, nurturing, and being an influence for good in their lives" ("Our Rising Generation," Liahona and Ensign, May 2006, 47).

How Can I Nurture the Rising Generation?

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008): "Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. . . . Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts. They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried" ("Words of the Living Prophet," Liahona, May 1998, 26–27; "Excerpts from Recent Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley," Ensign, July 1997, 73).

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president: "To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make grow. . . . Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work. Helping growth occur through nurturing is truly a powerful and influential role bestowed on women" ("Mothers Who Know," Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2007, 76, 77).

Barbara Thompson, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency: "As Relief Society sisters we can help one another to strengthen families. We are given opportunities to serve in many capacities. We constantly come in contact with children and youth who may need just what we can offer. You older sisters have much good advice and experience to share with younger mothers. Sometimes a Young Women leader or a Primary teacher says or does just the thing that is needed to reinforce what a parent is trying to teach. And obviously we don't need any particular calling to reach out to a friend or neighbor" ("I Will Strengthen Thee; I Will Help Thee," Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2007, 117).

As a Grandma, I don't feel that the nurturing of the rising generation is just left up to their parents. Grandparents can have a significant effect in the lives of their grandchildren. A grandparents love and nurturing is something that in a child's life, that is extra special. It is the icing on the cake, or should I say the cherry on the top of the whipped cream. Parents have their children all day long, but Grandparents get to have their grandchildren from time to time and we need to make those moments really count. The memories our grandchildren will make with us will live on with them after we die. What kind of memories are we making with our grandchildren.

I love to see the love that goes into the Primary music that my 76 year old mother prepares each week for her Ward Primary. She spends hours thinking, planning and preparing the music using visual aids, and word strips and rhythm instruments and all manner of ways to teach and influence the Primary children. My mother can barely walk, and limps in pain with each step she takes, yet she takes them one step at a time, with a huge smile on her beautiful face. She is a silvery gray haired woman, completely lovely in every way. She is also one who has already given plenty of her years in Primary and music in particular, yet she still does it with a smile on her face and gives so much to those little primary children. How old is too old to be in the Primary? Just ask my Mom or should I say, go watch her in action, and you will see someone who lives by "enduring to the end" and cheerfully.

I hope I have shared with you some thoughts that might encourage and motivate you to think about the message of this month, about the contribution you can make to the rising generation, no matter how young or old you are. Enjoy! Love, Katie G

A Cute little Halloween Poem

For a cute little Halloween Poem that you can take with your Visiting Teaching as a little gift, go to http://visitingteachingsurprise.blogspot.com/2009/10/halloween-poem.html

I'm Baaaaack!

It has been a while since I have posted or added some fun thing for you but there has been a reason. I became a grandma again, with my 10th Grandchild, and second grand daughter. This little dolly came a month early, and I excitedly did my Grand mothering and spent a week at the home of my son to help with the twins as well as the new baby. Whew, I realized why it is important to have your children when you are young. It certainly brought back memories, when I would pick up the toys and tidy the room, and leave for a few minutes, and upon returning, the room was basically looking the way it was before I cleaned it. Children.... you just gotta love them, and I did, and in fact loved them so much that my husband and I returned this past week to be there for the baby's blessing. We just returned home today.

When I returned from my first trip, I found out that my 78 year old mother was in need and had actually gone down and applied for a sewing job at Beehive sewing. She thought that she could sit and sew all day long and earn some extra money to get by. When she interviewed, she was told that there were some changes and instead of sitting and sewing, they stand all day at these round tables doing a production line. My Mom was disheartened because she cannot stand for long periods of time. ANYWAY.... I decided to help my Mom by creating a little business and together we are participating in a Craft fair, held up in Park City, Utah on the first weekend (Saturday) in December. Here is the information:

Little Dickens Craft Fair & Boutique
DATE: Dec. 5, 2009,
Time: 10 am - 4pm.
Location: Park City Community Church
4501 N HWY 224
Park City, UT 84098.

I have designed some darling aprons for Women, Men, and children. My dear sweet mother will be sewing these aprons until the cows come home, or at least until the fair. She will also be selling some yummy Lehi Mill Mixes, and if you have ever had those, you know how wonderful they are but even better for Gift Giving. I have been working feverishly on some cute craft items that you can give to your Visiting Teaching sisters, neighbor gifts, and other cute ideas that I have had. This is why there isn't any postings for October and November as far as new Ideas, because I have been working so hard to get these things ready for the Little Dickens Fair.

I would like to invite you to come to the Little Dickens Fair and Boutiques, and if you do, come... please find my booth and meet me and my mother. I have had lots of blog visitors want to meet me, and so here is a good chance as well as to have some fun at the fair. I am not sure what our booth will be called, but probably something like...."In the Kitchen" or "Cuteness in the kitchen" or something to do with he Kitchen.

I am leaving it up to my mother, and if she wants to continue to sew aprons, to earn some extra money, but if she does, then I will open an online store to sell them. We hope to sell out but who knows, how that will go? Oh and if you would like to see samples of my aprons, post a comment and I will add a picture to this post.

Go to my archives to see ideas that I have posted in the past if you have come searching for some new ideas. After the Fairs I will get back to taking care of this blog.

It is good to be back!!! Love, Katie G.

Sunday General Conference

Wow, just when you thought that the prior conference could not be beat as far as the wonderful talks and messages that were given, another conference simply blew me away. What a marvelous conference this was again! As I sat in my family room listening to the talks, I kept having "Warm Fuzzies" sort of like those in the jar that a Primary sent to President Monson.No.... really my warm fuzzies came from the Spirit continually testifying to me of the truth of what was being said. If I could pick just one talk that was my favorite, and there were many, but I would have to say that the Talk given by Jeffery R. Hollandwas one that touched me the very most. His entire talk was a fervant testimony of the Book of Mormon and what a powerful experience. I don't know about you, but I could barely contain myself as tears flowed down my face and my heart felt like it was in my throat. The spirit testified to me the truth of what he was saying.,After Conference I was pondering the words of Elder Hollands talk and I remembered the testimonies of so many other leaders of our church. I began to mentally make a list of where I had read or seen these testimonies. I think when I get some time, I will make a link list of where these testimonies can be found so that others can be reminded of how powerful the testimony of our Prophets and church leaders are.

When music and testimony are combined, they become a powerful expression and I guess because I have such a love for music, two songs of Testimony come to mind right away.The first one that came to mind immediately was the testimony written in song by Bruce R. McConkie..."I believe in Christ" You can find it at http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=134&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=134&searchsubseqend=ZZZ I can't get through this song without crying. You can also hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing this powerful song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjMT9xlyMw

Another powerful yet simple song of testimony is that of President Gordon B. Hinckley's testimony, put to music by G. Homer Durham called "My Redeemer lives". It can be found at http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=135&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=135&searchsubseqend=ZZZ I wrote an Easter Program some years back that included the story of how this song came about. It goes like this... “When President Gordon B. Hinckley was first counselor in the first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he wrote his testimony in a poem, which appeared in the New Era magazine in April 1983. Composers were asked to submit
musical settings to be chosen to accompany this hymn, which would be put in the hymnbook in 1985. President Hinckley wanted the music simple, or as he phrased it “something that he could easily sing to the cows while milking them.” Elder G. Homer Durham was one of many who submitted a tune, and when President Hinckley was making his selection, he was pleased to find out the identity of Elder Durham’s
submission, as the two men had been lifelong friends, from grade school through college, mission days and beyond.” By the way, this easter program can be found here: www.defordmusic.com/eastermessagesfromourprophets.doc
The words of the song can be found here in the April 1983 New Era.. http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=a3e6ad74be99b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRDOnce again, what a wonderful Conference and I can't wait until the talks are available to read online and when the Conference issue of the Ensign comes out. I think they will get me throught until the next Conference. Katie G.

Conference Weekend

I so look forward to General Conference Weekends! I am so glad that it is here again. I loved the talks that were given today and in fact there are two of them that I have already pinpointed and will use for one of my blogs and for my Missionary work. I was looking up on LDS.org to find out when the talks will be available. I was hoping that they would be up today for today's talks, but I guess I will have to wait a while.When I was on LDS.org, I came upon some things that I had forgotten about and maybe you have too, so I thought I would share. There is a page on LDS.org located at http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=cdd1f9bd8b7d4110VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&locale=0 that you can subscribe to some really great things. I use to subscribe to LDS gems, but my computer died and I forgot to resubscribe on my new computer. There are videos, podcasts, firesides, LDS church news, the Friend magazine and much, much more. My favorite has been the Gems, that use to really make my day. I would seem to be sent gospel topic quotes and messages via email that would speak to me or be just for me. I loved starting my day with an LDS Gem.

Anyway...just a tip from me... go to the link above and sign up for some of their subscriptions. It is well worth your time and will enrich your life.

ENJOY CONFERENCE!!!